Average to Savage: Thriving When It Counts

by: Josh Bryant

It’s 4th and goal. One yard to go. Game on the line.

All you see is elbows and assholes. And the fullback? He’s that son of a bitch with a Polish last name—30 carries deep, jersey stained with someone else’s blood. His dad’s the plant supervisor who opened up a can of whoopass on twelve scabs during the last strike. 

Pressure doesn’t faze him—it forged him. 

He doesn’t hope for the ball. He expects it. And if he gets it, he’s crossing that line, no matter what’s in front of him.

That’s what it means to be a game-day player.

Athletes should perform better in a championship game than a walk-through. I’ve never understood powerlifters who beat their chest about gym lifts but crumble like drywall in a West Texas bar fight on meet day. You should be lifting more when it counts, not less.

So how do you go from average to savage—the kind of wrecking ball who welcomes pressure?

Whether you’re managing a hedge fund during a market crash or working the Allsup’s night shift with three tweakers fighting over the last chimichanga, pressure is pressure. Doesn’t matter if it’s the platform, the boardroom, the battlefield, or real life—you either perform when it matters most, or you don’t.

Here are some tools from the late, great Dr. Maxwell Maltz in Psycho-Cybernetics—a playbook for mental domination.

Practice Without Pressure

Pressure is the enemy of learning. When tensions are high, improvement’s low.

That’s why the path to dominating under pressure starts by practicing without it.

Carlos Hathcock—the deadliest sniper in U.S. Marine Corps history—had 93 confirmed kills and likely over 300 total. He once crawled for over three days through enemy territory to eliminate a high-value NVA general with a single shot. But long before that, he honed his aim shooting squirrels as a kid in Arkansas. Quiet. Alone. No pressure. Just reps.

His most legendary shot? Dropped North Vietnam’s top sniper, “Cobra,” by firing through the man’s rifle scope—right into his eye.His most legendary shot? Dropped North Vietnam’s top sniper, “Cobra,” by firing through the man’s rifle scope—right into his eye. That’s not marksmanship—that’s the Jungian synchronicity of steroids with a Winchester Model 70.

Hathcock was so accurate, he could make you half-cock from a mile away—even if you’re hung like a bull mosquito.

A rookie boxer won’t sharpen his jab by sparring a killer looking to shorten his lifespan. He needs footwork drills, mitt work, bag rounds, and partners who won’t send him to the ER. Skill blooms without chaos.

Billy Graham? Preached his first sermons to tree stumps in the Florida swamps.
Great golfers build their swing in silence. Great lifters master form without crowds.
This kind of “private practice” wires your nervous system. You build internal maps. You become unconsciously competent. No second-guessing, no freeze-ups. Just automatic excellence.

And when your nervous system, mind, and muscles are working in harmony, your self-image evolves. You start expecting success—because that’s what you’ve practiced.

High Stakes = Power

Pressure’s not your enemy—it’s your energy.

Nerves, fear, and adrenaline? That’s your launch fuel. Purpose flips the switch. Now you’re in the zone. You start seeing opportunities, not obstacles. You attack the moment. That focus becomes addicting.

And just like a bike, you’ve only got one option: pedal forward or fall off.

Worst Case Scenario?

Still hesitant? Then ask yourself:
What’s the worst that could happen?

Miss a lift? Miss a shot? Blow a play?

If you can live with that—take the damn shot. You’ll regret hesitation far more than failure. Growth comes from action, not fear.

Final Thoughts

Two thousand years ago, Epictetus nailed it:
“Man is not troubled by events, but by how he interprets them.”

Game-day pressure isn’t something to fear. It’s something to embrace.
It’s not chaos. It’s your proving ground.

Train with purpose.
Practice without pressure.
And when it’s 4th and goal—all elbows and assholes—you better be the fullback who wants the ball.

Practice right with one of Josh’s Programs HERE.